Current Oxford/Cambridge students support/chat continued

[Panicmode1]

New thread.....!

@Ironoaks he was the coquus wasn't he? We all felt sorry for Clemens being the slave. Oh the days of form III Latin (now y7 but I am ancient!)

Yes, he was, but also a trouble magnet as I recall.

Memories!

It's so long ago, I'm not sure my memories of Latin are entirely my own. I suspect some of them are from MN.
Only just catching up. Congratulations to those whose DC have done well, and handholds to the ones who are still caught up in the effects of the strike.

Congratulations to all finalists- excellent to hear all the news of successful results though equally frustrating for those who’ve been so frustratingly affected by marking boycotts.

DS who’s a 2nd year has been affected by strikes as his ‘Diss’ ethics approval was delayed by 5 weeks and he’s just about to start his field work. It’s a complex project that required both departmental and inter departmental approval. We’ve been away in a remote area of the Alps with no connectivity so have had to drive DS to cafes to try and What’s App his diss supervisor to hurry the process on. Eventually progress seems to being made but all very chaotic. Frustrating as he has no flex with six weeks field work to do and diss to be handed in by Jan. So this long Vac his only option.

Some may remember DS was somewhat chaotic himself in Year 1 but he worked so hard to get everything submitted in in good time last term. It’s been a harsh lesson in never assuming someone else will look after your interests. Thankfully all looks like it will be okay as no field work counts / can be used before the full approval is given.

Dd has received an absolutely lovely email from the head of philosophy. Happy to frame that if she never gets her final classification.

@HewasH20 - that's a lovely thing for them to do, and will mean so much to her.

Well done and How lovely - such personal notes from someone you really respect mean so much and will be with your DD for her life.

How lovely @HewasH20 !

@HewasH20 that's so lovely that the head of philosophy did this for your DD. I do hope she eventually gets her work marked.

DS1 (C) received another very generic email from his department the other day which, if you penetrated the 'froth', basically said... nothing has changed regarding any work getting marked but that there might be further talks happening at some point, possibly.....So yeah, crystal clear then. Still nothing to be marked in the foreseeable future.

He's now unclear whether he's going to need something in writing from his college to say he's got a degree...yet not exactly got a degree...in order to proceed with his intended next step towards further qualifications for his career path.

Meanwhile, although DS2 (O) hasn't mentioned this at all, I know a while ago that he'd had vague ideas of one day, once he's qualified for a career/job and has earned some money, he might want to go back to do further academic study at Oxford - ie a Masters at the least. Am I right in thinking that as he was two marks off a first, he'd stand no chance of getting accepted without a first from Oxford?

Such a lovely thing to do @HewasH20 and shows real respect for her achievements.
@mutterphore I think a 2:1 is required for entry onto a Masters - certainly that's the requirement for the integrated Masters so I'm sure DS 2 would have an excellent chance of pursuing a Masters in the future.
DS is deep into his internship - he had a halfway presentation to his mentor yesterday and was pleased with the way it went. He is finding the work very interesting and challenging (I have no idea what he is doing - a combination of not really understanding the level of Maths he is working with and industry confidentiality. Hoping to have brunch and catch up tomorrow.

mutterphore with History the situation is very likely to be that your DS would be accepted onto a Masters' programme but not massively likely to get funding (which is very scarce atm anyhow). The first in his dissertation is definitely helpful

By funding I mean scholarship funding as opposed to a loan.

I know two people with a DPhil/PhD who got a 2ii in their first degree… so don’t fret @mutterphore .

Would it be possible to change the title of this to Parents of current students? I came on here thinking it was a support thread for those of us at Oxbridge but just found it was a mums and dads thread about how their kids are doing 😥.

I see what you mean by the thread title, @Handbagger99 , though this thread is whatever number in a continuation of basically the same thread, with parents joining and leaving as their student children get Oxbridge places and eventually graduate. It's mostly parents around these parts, so that element is taken for granted. You could always try making your own thread to see if enough students are lurking to get a conversation going. Given that this one has pretty much appropriated the 'current Oxbridge students' theme, you'd have to find some way of distinguishing yours for now.

What Dahlia said. Some if us have been chatting together for 7 years now since our offspring started their GCSEs. I doubt if we're going to name change anymore than the Archer's threads would. Are there really enough current students frequenting the HE board to fret?

I'm hoping Handbagger99 isn't struggling in some way but if they are, this possibly wouldn't be the best forum to look for help in any event.

Ahh, I see what you mean. I'm not sure there are many threads for actual students on the HE boards by the nature of MN.

An idle search on the username offers a useful perspective. Do they not get the point of this forum? Trying to make a snarky point? Or genuinely looking for advice? 🤔

@mutterphore 2.1 is fine for any higher degree. DS was fretting about what results he might get and a friend pointed out you can even apply to Harvard for a PHD programme on the strength of a 2.1. It shouldn't hold anyone back.

KCL insist on a "high" 2:1 which your DS undoubtedly has @mutterphore. There are so many interesting masters programmes beyond Oxbridge which have as much or more relevance in the real world. He's bound to find something.

There are so many interesting masters programmes beyond Oxbridge

The student needs to be very selective though - too many courses are merely cash cows for the uni in question with almost no contact time whatsoever (this was the case even before Covid). Some unis have particularly bad reputations as far as this goes.

I'm sure given how selective they were before, they will be again.

Too many unis which are competitive at undergrad level is what I meant H20. My niece did a masters programme at one of the main big name London unis, self funded and had a single short group session once a week on a Friday afternoon. It was a complete waste of a large amount of money. There are many, many other courses which look great on the uni websites with slick marketing, claim to be competitive but are not worth anything tbh. I'm not sure that going to Oxbridge for undergrad protects one from rogue masters' programmes at unis with otherwise excellent names.